Elsevier

Social Science & Medicine

Volume 61, Issue 11, December 2005, Pages 2293-2303
Social Science & Medicine

Marital transitions and mental health: Are there gender differences in the short-term effects of marital status change?

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.07.020Get rights and content

Abstract

Although there has been evidence to suggest that women exhibit more vulnerability to psychological distress than men when they lose a spouse or remarry, knowledge about the process by which men and women adjust to marital change remains fragmentary. This is due in part to the length of time between observations in longitudinal studies on marital change, with the result that mental health status is typically assessed long after a marital status transition has occurred. The purpose of the current study is to test for gender differences in the short-term mental health effects of a marital status transition using three waves of data collected at two year intervals in a Canadian population health survey (N=11,155). Growth curve analyses confirm the mental health advantage of marriage and reveal that the short-term effects of moving into and out of marriage on psychological distress are similar for men and women. We discuss the implications of these findings for resolving competing explanations regarding psychological adjustment to marital change.

Introduction

Despite the growing retreat from marriage in both Canada and the United States (Lichter, McLaughlin, & Ribar, 2002; Pollard & Wu, 1998), cross-sectional studies clearly show that married individuals enjoy longer lives and are in better physical and mental health than their non-married counterparts (Cotten, 1999; Earle, Smith, Harris, & Longino, 1998; Lillard & Waite, 1995; Ross, 1995; Umberson & Williams, 1999; Zick & Smith, 1991). Although some of this relationship can be attributed to social selection, that is, healthy individuals make more attractive mates and spouses sometimes leave when their partners develop a serious illness, social causation remains the prevailing explanation (Johnson & Wu, 2002; Joung, van de Mheen, Stronks, Van Poppel, & Mackenbach, 1998; Menaghan, 1985). Further, early suppositions regarding the mental health vulnerability of women in marriage, putatively arising out of limited access to other roles, social isolation in the home and economic dependence on a male partner (Gove, 1972), have received little support, with many reporting that the mental health benefits of being married extend equally to men and women (Kim & McKenry, 2002; Ross, 1995; Simon, 2002; Thoits, 1986; Williams, 2003).

In contrast, knowledge about the mental health effects of change in marital status is at a preliminary stage. Although most studies report that gaining a spouse improves mental health and loss of a spouse negatively affects mental health (Hope, Rodgers, & Power, 1999; Horwitz, White, & Howell-White, 1996; Kim & McKenry, 2002; Lamb, Lee, & DeMaris, 2003; Marks & Lambert, 1998; Menaghan & Lieberman, 1986; Simon, 2002; Simon & Marcussen, 1999; Williams, 2003), the drawback of these longitudinal studies is that they typically entail a two-wave panel design with large intervals between measurement periods, and therefore, reveal little about the process by which individuals respond to change in marital status.

The importance of this issue is clearly seen in the debate over whether men and women differ in their mental health response to marital change. Longitudinal studies finding that marital status transitions exert gender-specific effects on mental health (Horwitz et al., 1996; Marks & Lambert, 1998; Simon, 2002; Simon & Marcussen, 1999; Williams, 2003) have at least six years between observations. If the long-term consequences of a marital status transition are different for men and women, then longitudinal studies with wide gaps between observations may be detecting the mental health effects of differential exposure to persisting secondary stressors flowing from the transition rather than reactions related directly to the stress of marital change. In other words, emotional reactivity on the part of women, who appear to be more vulnerable than men, might actually have a structural basis. Assessing the short-term mental health effects of a change in marital status using longitudinal studies with more closely spaced observations may provide a different perspective, one that points to greater similarity in men's and women's responses in the immediate aftermath of marital status change.

The purpose of the present study is to build on research on gender differences in the mental health effects of marital status transitions, using data from a multi-wave survey of Canadian men and women conducted every other year between 1994 and 1998. We first review and critically assess existing longitudinal studies, before presenting results showing that, in the short-term, making a marital status transition exerts mental health effects that are not significantly different for men and women.

Section snippets

Marital transitions and mental health

To be consistent with cross-sectional evidence, longitudinal research on the mental health effects of marital transitions should confirm that entry into marriage is health enhancing. Results thus far have been mixed. Some studies show that those who marry for the first time report a significant reduction in depression compared to those who remain single (Lamb et al., 2003; Marks & Lambert, 1998; Simon, 2002), while other studies find no significant differences (Horwitz & White, 1991; Wu & Hart,

Sample

Begun in 1994, the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) is a longitudinal study assessing the health status of the Canadian population. Based on a complex multi-stage sampling design, the data, when weighted, comprise a nationally representative sample of Canadian household residents. The survey collects general information about all members of selected households as well as in-depth health information on one individual, aged 12 and older, randomly selected from each household. These

Sample characteristics

In total, 11,155 respondents, participating in at least one wave of the NPHS, make up 31,821 observations in the person-period data file. Slightly more than half of respondents are female, and age at initial interview ranges from 18 to over 100, with an average age of 44 years (s.d.=17). Table 1 presents descriptive statistics for each of the four marital status categories in 1994. As would be expected, single respondents are younger and widowed respondents are older relative to the married and

Discussion

The purpose of the current study was to ascertain whether there are gender differences in the short-term mental health effects of change in marital status. Although other longitudinal studies have reported that women are more vulnerable to the mental health consequences of marital loss and remarriage (Horwitz et al., 1996; Marks & Lambert, 1998; Simon, 2002; Simon & Marcussen, 1999; Williams, 2003), lengthy intervals between observations in these studies make it plausible that observed

Limitations

The NPHS does not specifically ask respondents whether a marital transition occurred nor is there information available on marital history prior to 1994. This gives rise to three potential limitations in our assessment of marital status. First, respondents who are married in consecutive waves but to different spouses will be incorrectly treated as if they did not experience any marital change. We anticipate this number to be small because the two year interval between interviews is fairly

Conclusion

As researchers seek to understand the mental health consequences of transitions in marital status, the need for a process-oriented approach is becoming increasingly apparent. Such an approach would not only provide greater insight into how individuals respond to important life events over time, but would allow for a more fine-grained distinction between responses that are the result of the reaction to crisis versus those embedded in a more persisting pattern of chronic strain. Further,

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Canadian Population Health Initiative, part of the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

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